Insulated rail joint



N. E} SALSICH INSULATED RAIL JOINT Nov. 19, 1929.

Filed Feb. 10, 1927 INVENTOR WAX V @ATTORNE Patented Nov. 19, 1929 entree stares NEIL E. SALSIOH, F BETHLEE-Z EM, PENNSYLVANIA INSULATED RAIL JOINT Application filed February 10, 1827. Serial No. 167,143.

My invention relatesto insulated rail joints used to interrupt the electrical continuity of the track rails. I

It is customary in connection with track signalling to insulate the ends of adjoining rails by providing an insulating material interposed between the ends of the rails and between the surfaces of the rails and the splice bars constituting the rail joint. In service, the rail joint is subjected to severe stresses due to the flexingof the ends of the rails under the load of a passing train and unless the joint is rigidly constructed to resist such flexing the insulating material is soon disinte- 175 grated or is displaced and the insulating value of the oint is destroyed.

It is, therefore, the object of my invention to provide a rail joint construction wherein the splice bars are simple, have great rigidity, are not costly to manufacture and have the material thereof so distributed as to effectively resist the stresses imposed thereon in service.

The novel features of my invention will be more fully understood from the following description and claims taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the insulated rail joint;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on line II-II in Fig. 1; and,

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view taken on line IIIIII in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, 10 and 11 designate the ends of adjoining track rails that are connected by the insulated rail joint. splice bar 13 is provided at each side of the track rails and functions to hold the adjoining ends of such rails together and in proper position as'hereinafter described.

Preferably the splice bars at each side of the rails are similar in dimension and general outline. The splice bar 18 is substantially of uniform thickness throughout its length and is of such thickness that substantially half of its mass falls without the vertical plane passing through the gage line of the rail head, indicated by broken line ab. The bar is shaped so that the upper and lower surfaces converge in the same degree as the under surface of the rail head and the top surface of the rail flange, respectively. The material at the lower outer edge of the bar at each'end is removed, as at 14, in order to-provide adequate clearance for-the heads'of the spikes 1 1 which "hold'the rails down on theties. Providing this clearance for the spike heads'alleviates the possibility of the spikes contacting with the splice bar which otherwise might occur and thus destroy the insulating character of the joint.

it will be noted that the greatest cross sectional area of splice bars of this construction is at'and in the region of'the adjoining ends of the rails and thus the material of the splice bars is distributed to the best advantage and also affords a maximum resistance to the stresses'imp'osed thereon in service.

An insulating strip '15 is interposed be tween the splice bars and the rails on' each side of the rails,in order to insulate thesplice bars from the rails. This strip is preferably made of a hard fibrous material and isof uniform thickness throughout. The strip is made of such shape that itconfo'rms to the inner face of the splice bar, and is pro-. vided with outwardly-extending flange por tions 16 and 17 which extend between the upper face of the splice bar and the-under side of the rail head and between the lower face of the splice bar and the upper side 'of the flange of the rail, respectively. It will be noted that the top outer edge of the splice bar is bevelled back to the side face of the tread portion of the rail to'provide a moisture shedding face 18 and also to provide a clearance for the flange of the passing railway car wheel. The top flange 16 of, theinsulating strip is made so as to come flush with the outer top edge of the splice bar. The bottom 90 flange 17 of the strip extends outto the outer bottom edge of the splice bar and is cut away to conform with the offset edge portion at 14."

The strips 15 as well as the splice bars are provided with holes corresponding to those in the ends of the adjoining rails to receive fastening means such as bolts 19. These bolts are insulated from the splice'bars by suitable fibre bushings 20 and fibre washer plates 21] The fibre plates 21 are protected fronithe bolt heads and the lock washers by rectangular metal plates 22. Nuts 23 are provided for the bolts to fasten and hold the joint in place, a lock washer 24 being provided for each bolt to lock the nut thereon.

The contiguous ends of the rails are insulated by means of a T strip .25 of fibrous material usually provided for that purpose.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that I have devised a rail joint which is rigid in construction, simple to make and in which the material thereof is distributed to afford maximum resistance to flexure of the rails in service.

While I have shown my rail joint in connection with an insulated joint, itis manifest that my invention could be embodied advantageously in joints which are not required to be insulated. e

While I have shown my invention in but one form it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be paced thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An insulated rail joint comprising adjoining rail end portions having bolt openings, splice bars cooperating with the rail end portions, each splice bar having upper and lower surfaces which converge in the same degree as the under surface of the rail head and the top surface of the rail flange, respectively, insulating material interposed between the inclined surfaces of the splice bars and of the rail end portions, each splice bar being substantially of uniform thickness from end to end, bolt openings extending therethrough, each splice bar being of such thickness that substantially half of its mass falls without the vertical plane passing through the age line of the rail head, each bar having the central portion of its lower edge in the plane of the outside surface of the s lice bar, the end portions of said lower edge heing displaced inwardly with reference to the central portion, and bolts arranged in the openings of the rail end portions and of the bars to hold the parts together and form a rail joint.

2. A sp'lice bar having upper and lower surfaces which converge in the same degree as the under surface of the rail head and the top surface of the rail flange, respectively, the bar being of such thickness that substantially half of its mass falls without the vertical plane passing through the gage line of the rail head, the bar having the central portion of its lower edge in the plane of the outside surface of the splice bar and the end portions of said lower edge displaced inwardly with reference to the central portion.

3. A splice bar adapted to cooperate with adjoining ends of a pair of track rails and having upper and lower sloping surfaces converging towards each other constituting rail bearing surfaces, the upper longitudinal edge defined by the upper sloping surface and the outside vertical face of the bar being bevelled to provide a moisture shedding surface, the lower sloping surface aforesaid extending longitudinally its full width for a distance at each side of the junction of the track rails and being narrowed laterally for a distance intermediate the junction of the track rails and the ends of the bar.

4. A splice bar having upper and lower surfaces adapted to engage the under surface of the rail head and the upper surface of the rail flange, respectively, with uniform pressure throughout the length of the bar, the front edge of said lower surface at the ends of the bar being displaced rearwardly of the front edge of said lower surface at the central portion of the bar.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature this 4th day of February, 1927.

NEIL E. SALSICH. 

